• CHERYL G. CRUZ
More than a thousand sugarcane farmers affected by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in the cities of Talisay and San Carlos in Negros Occidental each received P10,325 in cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development during the pilot payout July 29.
Of the beneficiaries, 607 were sugarcane farmers affected by RSSI in 830.76 hectares validated as infested in nine barangays of Talisay.
In San Carlos, 682.49 hectares have been validated as RSSI-hit, affecting 416 farmers.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, who attended the initial rollout of assistance under the agency’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program, said the number of affected sugarcane farmers is expected to go up as ground validation and field monitoring, led by the Sugar Regulatory Administration and local government units, continue.
The DSWD said that, as of the latest report from SRA, the RSSI has affected 61,382 hectares of agricultural land in 335 barangays across Negros Occidental.
Of the total, 25,350.60 hectares have been validated as infested by the invasive pest that attacks sugarcane by sucking plant sap, affecting 10,158 farmers.
Gatchalian said the DSWD will schedule the payout of assistance as soon as the list of beneficiaries is received from the LGU. “We’re always ready. In fact, the instruction of the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) is to do it immediately. The soonest we get the list from each local government unit, we’ll keep on scheduling na. We won’t wait for everybody to complete it.”
At the payout at the new public market in Talisay, Mayor Rowena Lizares thanked the DSWD, SRA, and the Department of Agriculture, among others, for “standing with the farmers during this difficult time.”
She also lauded the sugarcane farmers for their resilience and hard work in sustaining the industry “that has long been the livelihood of our communities”, adding she hopes the assistance would provide immediate relief to their families.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who was also present during the payout, thanked the national government for the support to the sugarcane farmers.
Negros Island is under a state of calamity due to the outbreak and continuing spread of RSSI in sugarcane plantations. | CGC
